No love lost between Heart Lake residents, Instagram invaders

The good people of Frontenac County have a blunt message for the hordes of love-struckshutterbugs descending on a perfectly heart-shaped lake in their region: It's over.

"We know that Heart Lake in Frontenac is amazing, but you need to stop going," reads a social media postfromthe county on Oct. 23.

Heart Lake, near Ompah, Ont., about 115 kilometres southwestof Ottawa, is a popular destination for photographers because of its unique shape, especially in the fall when the hardwood trees around its shoreline are adorned inspectacular fall foliage.

That is private property. They are invading privacy.- Karen Schonauer

"It's gotten a lot of attention recently through social media," said Ron Higgins, mayor of North Frontenac.

But nearby residents say they've become victims of the lake's sudden popularity.According to Higgins, 20 to 40 people visit the lake each weekday, and on weekends hundreds can descend on the formerly quiet area.

Heart Lake is on Crown Land and has nopublic access, so many of those visitors have been traipsing across private land to get to it.

Karen Schonauer, whose cottage is near the lake, saidshe's sick of finding strangers on her property.

"People are coming and going and using our driveway and parking in the middle of the driveway so we can't get in and out," Schonauer said. "We started to notice this last summer, but this summer it's gotten crazy, and the fall colours have brought them out even more."

She said she's met visitors from as far away as Sudbury and North Bay, Ont.,who have come to snap pictures of the lake.

Drones a nuisance

Because Heart Lake's shape is best viewed from above, drones have also become a nuisance.Schonauer said she and her brother have both had drones hovering above their cottages.

"They are loud, they are noisy, and they get in your face. That is private property. They are invading privacy," she said.

Higgins said it's not only a matter of respecting local residents, but with hunting season in full swing, there's a safety issue, too.

"This time of year it's actually quite dangerous to be going in that area," he said. "It can be dangerous out there if you're not wearing the proper orange vest."

Schonaueralso worries people will literally get lost in the beauty of the place.

"It's a big bush. People are going to get lost if they don't know their way,"she said."Don't come. It's not a tourist area."